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Travel Times on MS cars vs ICE cars

I'm in the process of trying to convince myself on a purchase of a Tesla.

The long distance travel times on a MS vs a ICE car is quite a bit longer, and that kind of is a troubling thing for both my wife and I.
Since I'm in the financial level of affording a used MS I guess obviously the size of battery is a big issue of how many times you need to stop....just like a size of gas tank in a ICE car.

I guess I'm asking for some ideas to put my mind at ease as to why the Tesla owners like/love to take long distance trips in their Tesla's vs their ICE cars?

My experience is adding ~1 hour for my usual 5 hour trip to Chicago. I use that to get a coffee and lunch. With all Chicago superchargers now I could probably cut the stops down to 30-40 minutes. I actually enjoy the lunch break.

Traveling is much cheaper. If you get a model S with unlimited free supercharging, there is no cost for electricity. If not, it is still cheaper than gas (in a comparable car).

I've made several long distance trips in my Model X. One particular trip from Portland OR to Rexburg ID we have made several times in my Tesla and in my wife's GMC Acadia. In her car, it takes 11 hours. In mine, it takes 14. I much prefer the Tesla. The charging stops leave me less stressed and provide a stretch and the Auto Pilot is awesome and makes it easy to enjoy the drive.

The trick is to have the car be around 20% of charge at your destination. Doing so will cut your time needing to charge. Chances are at your destination, you will have the car parked for a few hours which would be best charging.

We have taken over 30k of Tesla road trips. It depends on how you travel. For some the Tesla will take longer. But taking our Tesla generally doesn't take any longer than an ICE for my wife and I. No matter what we are driving, we stop mid-morning and mid-afternoon for her to go to the bathroom and get a cup of tea; and at mid-day and early evening for lunch and dinner. The car charges while we are stopped doing those things (plus overnight when we can). It does mean we have to eat a meal near the Supercharger; not always our first choice, but so far has worked out fine.

Even if you think a long trip will take you longer in the Tesla...I'd say it's balanced out by the time you save being able to charge at home for the vast majority of the year.

Benefits of taking the EV:

responsive and quick, with low COG like a performance car. Really fun to drive through those mountain passes!

better packaging - tons of storage like a utility vehicle

electricity is cheap and the car is efficient - travel costs like an economy car

no vibrations in the seat, steering wheel and floorboards from ICE explosions. Less noise and smell. You don't notice them in your ICE because you are used to them, but they add up on a long drive. You will be less tired driving an EV. (Your butt gets just as sore on those 800-mile days, but there is less fatigue)

We don't "put up with" our Tesla on a road trip. We prefer it, and would be really annoyed if we were forced to take a gas car on one.

That said, make sure there is Supercharger coverage where you want to go. If you like North Dakota or Saskatchewan, maybe a Tesla is not for you yet.

I'm in the process of trying to convince myself on a purchase of a Tesla.

The long distance travel times on a MS vs a ICE car is quite a bit longer, and that kind of is a troubling thing for both my wife and I.
Since I'm in the financial level of affording a used MS I guess obviously the size of battery is a big issue of how many times you need to stop....just like a size of gas tank in a ICE car.

I guess I'm asking for some ideas to put my mind at ease as to why the Tesla owners like/love to take long distance trips in their Tesla's vs their ICE cars?

Thank you

Click to expand...

There is no point in sugar coating it, it takes longer in EV on most long-distance trips that require charging vs ICE cars. I would recommend a few things to consider (it may or may not put your mind at ease):

- How frequently you take such trips? Statistically, ppl take only a few such trips per year.
- When you do, do you have a specific ETA to meet?
- On a typical trip longer than 2-3 hours, you will likely have to stop anyway (bio breaks, food breaks, fueling)
- With EV you will not be wasting your time with "normal" commute stopping by gas station, so that time is saved for you, as your car is full every morning (assuming you can charge overnight at your residence)
- It takes some planning usually to make the most out of your EV trip. While you can certainly just pickup and go relying on NAV system for clues on charging, there are too many variables that NAV is not able to consider
- Ideally, you would have a form of charging at your destination. In fact, it now impacts my planning for the place to stay, as having EV charging there is a factor.

Yep, consider 10min per week at gas stops a time savings bank to draw from on trips.

If you are charging more than 8 hours per year at superchargers, that's break-even. If you are charging more, consider intangible factors like free/cheap
"Fuel", autopilot, smooth highway cruising, crash safety, etc.

For us, we come out WAY ahead on time and save $100 or more in fuel on our most common "long" trips. No brainer; the gas car stays in the garage when we road trip.

My wife and I take 3 to 4 long trips from April to August each year. In the past we would rent a car for the one or two week periods.

Even though the ICE rental could drive for 6 or more hours before a refuel was required, we ALWAYS drove for 1 to no more than 2 hours before we stopped. Restroom, food, walking around just to get the blood flowing in our legs, and sometimes gas.

Now with our Tesla we do the same: Drive for 1 to 2 hours, stop at a Supercharger, plug in, find a restroom, walk around, etc.

As to the time at a Supercharger, as was stated above, we get just enough electricity to get to the next Supercharger, then a little cushion (anywhere from 10% to 20%). We always get to 50%, but sometimes go to as high as 70% if needed. At a few stops we have charged to 90% or higher but only because we were eating or shopping, or otherwise engaged. We start our trips with 100%, and charge to 100% when we have overnight with a Destination Charger.

We actually find that our travel time is about the same, only we NEVER stop at a gas station.

We have no regrets taking the Tesla on our long cross-country trips. It is a pleasure to drive and ride in. We are so happy we got the Model S 75D. We thought about the 100 but realized that the 75 had more than enough range to give us everything we needed, plus the weight saving makes it more efficient. We decided to go ahead and get the Model S after being on the Model 3 waiting list for a year. Now we are waiting for the D option (yea, this week!!!) but now are thinking we may go ahead and get it, or for just a few dollars more, we can get another Model S or even the X. We will finally have to make that decision this week.

1. range mode on and standard regen
2. goal is 15% or more charge at destination and ALWAYS use the cars navi as it's very accurate
3. book a hotel with destination tesla charging preferably to waste less time
4. plan meal and restroom breaks around Tesla charging stops (or take out food and eat in the car) have a iPad handy to watch netflix etc during the charging time if needed. (fits nicely on top of the dash so all can see and pipe the bluetooth to the car's stereo).

I'm in the process of trying to convince myself on a purchase of a Tesla.

The long distance travel times on a MS vs a ICE car is quite a bit longer, and that kind of is a troubling thing for both my wife and I.
Since I'm in the financial level of affording a used MS I guess obviously the size of battery is a big issue of how many times you need to stop....just like a size of gas tank in a ICE car.

I guess I'm asking for some ideas to put my mind at ease as to why the Tesla owners like/love to take long distance trips in their Tesla's vs their ICE cars?

Thank you

Click to expand...

I have a few things to add.

1. In a northern climate, range is reduced by as much as 40% in my experience (on the coldest days), which adds time to road trips. More stops and longer stops as a result of reduced range.

2. I travel between Toronto and Detroit a lot. In my ICE car I did that trip in as short as 3 hours. Now, the same trip adds anywhere from 30-45 minutes depending on temp and if I choose to stop once or twice. We usually stop twice, not because we have to but because we don’t have good charging options in Michigan so I always charge at the Roseville SC, just to top up because my destination charging in Michigan is a regular outlet. 2 stops = longer trip.

3. I have found that we (as a family) change how we road trip in the S. We use to be “get to our destination as fast as possible” kind of people. Now, we are much more relaxed and enjoy the ride a lot more. I drive slower, and find myself much more chilled behind the wheel, however, the change may not be for everyone. There is no doubt, driving an EV will add time to most road trips.

About 20% of our travel time is charging for long trips. And two stops a day are lunch and dinner, so we'd be stopping whether charging or not. It's a much more relaxing way to travel. I can actually do something useful when we arrive. I wouldn't even consider long road trips any other way. If you insist on driving 8 hours non-stop and eating in the car EV road tripping may not be for you.

LA to Portland - 1000 miles. 19 hours in an S without speeding (limit +7 average at most). In an ICE, maybe 16 hours. Except with an S, one arrives refreshed. Notable difference.

LA to Custer, South Dakota for the annual Sound of Silence Black Hills Tesla Rally - 1400 miles. 24 hours in an S across 2 days.

You get into a rhythm with Tesla road trips. A reasonable rule of thumb is 50mph gross time. If you've got 750 miles mas o menos per day to drive, as one might were one to travel from Vermont to Los Angeles, you can get that done and get 7-8 hours of sleep per night as well once you figure out how to not over-charge or to dawdle.

Key West is easy, Bar Harbor is easy. Even Acapulco will be doable once they add 1-2 more SCs (see supercharge.info starting at McAllen, Texas) - although the persistent beheadings and the lack of premium Mexican car insurance that will cover US (Tesla) shop rate, not to mention that pesky warranty voiding thing once you cross the border, could still be perceived as challenges (odd since clearly Teslas are delivered *to* Mexico and have perfectly good warranties). But one thing at a time.

The range anxiety will pass in 3-6 months. If you want to throw money at the condition, then consider a 100D or Model 3LR. But it's not necessary. I've done all of my schlepping through 48 states and provinces in an S85 and S90D.

Simply put, I would not undertake road trips of any appreciable duration in an ICE today. Period.

The last couple months we have unfortunately had to do road trips with two cars, an ICE and our X side-by-side. 5hrs to Squamish, then 5 to Kelowna, and then 4 back home. We have managed to charge when eating and shopping, but still had to stop and wait to gas up the ICE. We keep an ICE since we need a truck and there isn't a BEV truck yet. But once it comes out we will be done with ICE's. Next longer trip we take will be to CO, 36 hrs away.

About 20% of our travel time is charging for long trips. And two stops a day are lunch and dinner, so we'd be stopping whether charging or not. It's a much more relaxing way to travel. I can actually do something useful when we arrive. I wouldn't even consider long road trips any other way. If you insist on driving 8 hours non-stop and eating in the car EV road tripping may not be for you.

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+1 on this.

About a month ago, I travelled from Toronto to Windsor (Ontario) with two other cars (both ice). The plan was to make two stops, 1 at the Woodstock SC and the Comber SC. We stopped at Woodstock and the car needed only 10 minutes of charge, however, we went to Tim Hortons (yes, very stereotpycally Canadian) and had a bathroom break.

Between Woodstock and Comber is a long haul and one of our cars with elderly passengers needed to stop before comber to use the bathroom, so we stopped at an easy on/off rest stop for a quick bathroom break, 18km shy of the Comber SC. We stopped again at Comber for about 15 minutes.

One of the ladies in the ICE cars said to me, "I don't care how nice your car is, I would never want to travel like this because it is sooooo inconvenient". We had a bit of a back and forth, which I need not get into here, but the point is, EV road tripping is not for everyone. I am fine with that.

Like I said before, we've changed how we travel and I love the more relaxed form of travel, but again, I caution that it may not be for everyone.

Let's just say I can't do 11-12 hours of driving with about 15 minutes break (spent breathing fumes at a gas station) in the Tesla as I could in the ICE, which I never want to again since it is exhausting.

Road trips is definitely harder with the EV. I have to do a lot of planning and research before each trip online. What's the temperature? Is it uphill or downhill? Which supercharger has stuff around to do while charging? Can I get to a supercharging around meal time to eat around there? The planning also went down to which hotels we are staying... does it have EV charger so we could charge overnight and get started full the next day.

It would have been easier if the range is closer to 400 miles. But our MX 75D has less than 190 miles when it is loaded with people and luggage and driving around 75 to 85. I guess I could squeeze out another 20 or 30 miles if I drive under 65. It still means that the most I could drive is about 3 hours before stopping and it will be down to yellow or red.

On a long road trip, I think I might consider renting a Prius with 600+ miles range and adaptive cruise control.

I figure about 20% longer in my Tesla. I am about 4 hours to Las Vegas in my ICE (stopping for gas and bathroom). Takes about 4:45 in my Model S 85. I catch up on emails have a bite to eat while charging in Kingman. Need to get used to Carl’s JR when charging in Arizona.

I wondered/worried about that the first road trip I took from Boise to Portland Oregon. It didn't feel noticeable or inconvenient at all. You take three stops along the way of that 430 mile trip. Some friends of ours did that drive in a gas van, and they happened to hit all three of those stopping places anyway-hmmm. Going to Salt Lake City, it's two stops for 340 miles. Those are pretty normal amounts of stopping every couple of hours. Yes, you can sit for four or five hours straight, but I don't necessarily want to.

First tip, don't go into it planning to just plug in and then sit there in the car staring at the screen watching the miles count up. You WILL be bored, and it will feel like it takes a really long time. Go into it with the expectation to plug in and go walk somewhere and do something, anything. If you go walk down the street and get an iced tea or something, 15 minutes will disappear without your even noticing it, so it makes the time go faster. People fly through 5 or 10 minutes on their phone sometimes if they're sitting with a coffee. So don't focus on waiting; focus on doing, and the time will seem much shorter.

Second tip, someone mentioned about a traveling rhythm. It helps to intentionally try for alternating short/long/short/long for your stops if they're about two hours apart. You're going to eat sometime, right? So go plug in, and go eat somewhere. Don't try to rush to grab food and go in 10 minutes, but take your time to sit and eat. That may be 30-40 minutes or more, including a little walking time to and from. The car will have enough before you are done, so you're not waiting for it at all, and the car will get quite a bit of extra charge. So then when you stop at a Supercharger a couple of hours later, you still have some extra energy leftover in the battery, so that Supercharger stop is a quick one, like 10-15 minutes. Then two hours later, it's four hours since you ate, so maybe it's time for your dinner break to eat again. And so on...

I have to do a lot of planning and research before each trip online. What's the temperature? Is it uphill or downhill? Which supercharger has stuff around to do while charging? Can I get to a supercharging around meal time to eat around there? The planning also went down to which hotels we are staying... does it have EV charger so we could charge overnight and get started full the next day.

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I found this kind of interesting. You can do that level of planning if you want to, but I don't think it's very necessary anymore. Most of my life I've wanted to do some kind of huge road trip across the country, and in February, I got to do it by myself. Because of this kind of preconception some people have about electric road tripping, I intentionally didn't plan much of it at all, just to show to myself and others that Supercharging really does make this pretty easy and isn't as much of an obstacle as some people think it is. I hadn't even picked which cities I was going to stop in. It was 5,332 miles in 11 days. I drove from Boise, down to I-70, all the way across to Ohio and Michigan, and then on the way back, decided to take a different route down through Oklahoma, Texas, etc. on I-40. I had some temperatures down to 9 degrees across Colorado and Kansas, and up as high as about 83 a few days later in Oklahoma, which was a little crazy. My levels of planning mainly consisted of getting up in the morning and deciding how far I wanted to go that day, and then booking a room on AirBNB for that night. I was going to visit family in two places in Missouri, so on the way, I was trying to get to their places on Saturday and Sunday, but that was the only scheduled part of the trip that I arranged ahead of time.

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